We're proud to announce the launch of the Awair AQI Map, a novel way to compare indoor and outdoor PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) in the Awair Home app.

As a product offering, Awair focuses on real-time, indoor air quality monitoring but recognizes that understanding the relationship between indoor and outdoor is important. At Awair, we understand that outdoor air pollutants, such as PM2.5 from wildfire smoke, can have a big impact on indoor air quality. We built this feature to empower our users with outdoor PM2.5 information, making it accessible when you need it most. 

Our indoor air quality monitor, Awair Element, tracks temperature, humidity, CO2, VOCs, and PM2.5 levels in your space. Awair Home, our free app,  gives you real-time insight and recommendations to keep your indoor air healthy. This app makes it easy to understand how your indoor activities can impact air quality and influence the way you feel. View your air quality at a glance using the Awair Score, browse individual sensor readings, analyze trends, and receive recommendations to improve the health of your space.

What’s New

The Awair AQI Map Beta is a new feature in the Awair Home app that gives you a quick glance at the PM2.5 indoors and the neighborhood time-weighted averages outdoors. In the image below, the number on the top in the larger circle is the average outdoor AQI in your area. The smaller number represents the neighborhood average indoor air quality in the same area.

Noticing differences, or similarities, between these two data points can help you understand whether your air is influenced by the outside air or whether something is going on inside. In the example above,  the user is doing a great job at keeping their indoor air free of PM2.5, likely by keeping the windows shut and running an air purifier.  

How does Awair collect the outdoor AQI values?

The outdoor AQI values shown in the Awair AQI Map are calculated from the PM2.5 values based on information provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, AQICN, or PurpleAir outdoor sensor network.  The “Your Indoor” AQI value, listed on the lower left, is your Indoor AQI based on the PM2.5 value. If you have multiple Awair devices, this number will represent an average of all device PM2.5 levels. 

What does AQI represent?

The above image shows AQI information on an unhealthy air day in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The Air Quality Index (AQI PM2.5) represents the level of air pollution from fine particulate matter. The higher the AQI value, the worse the outdoor air quality is. The AQI values range from Good to Hazardous. Please refer to the graph below and https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/ for more AQI details from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The Awair Home app is available on iOS or Android for consumers/owners of Awair Indoor Air Quality monitors, such as Awair Element. 

Already an Awair Home app user? As always, your air quality is anonymized and only visible to you. You can opt out of using the Outdoor AQI Map by removing your location in your Settings. Read the FAQ for step-by-step instructions. 

We are still building out the features within both the AQI map and the app, so stay tuned!